When I first start Cromartie High School, I think it will end up as a “Quick Review” alongside several other requested comedies. However, I watch a few episodes (they are half-length) and then find myself wanting more the next day. And more the day after that. Before I know it, I have watched the series in full and enjoyed myself throughout.

Cromartie High School is about an eclectic group of high schoolers doing seemingly ordinary high school things in the most unordinary ways. I have never meant eclectic more than here. The first episode introduces a few characters, including a guy who looks like Freddie Mercury that they decide to call Freddie. It’s Freddie Mercury, okay – clearly him! He never says a word, though he can sing like a superstar. He also rides to school on a horse. Why? He’ll never tell. There’s a robot (often mistaken for a vending machine), a gorilla, and even the yakuza as part of the class.

One episode about a rival gang wanting to get the leader of the Cromartie gang has them spooked when they meet the increasingly weird characters in attendance at Cromartie High School. Aliens pay a visit.

The humour in Cromartie takes the absurd and places it in the normal. The gorilla, for instance, is like an ordinary student, except, you know, a gorilla. The running joke with his is everyone trying to determine if he is actually a student. One gang leader, despite his outward tough guy persona, just wants to be a great comedian. He internal monologues everything as a comedian critiquing other people’s comedy. The running joke with him is how he takes everything as an attempt at comedy. Absurd meets ordinary.

Consistency of humour and style makes Cromartie High School a success for me. It isn’t a random collection of unrelated jokes, jumping from one wacky scenario to another wacky scenario from a different anime. The consistency, the running jokes, allows the humour to build over time. The escalation makes me enjoy it more the later we get into the series.

One character I particularly like is the gangster who gets motion sick easily, but can’t let anyone know lest it ruin his image as the toughest guy around. He can’t open his mouth or he will surely vomit, so we hear his thoughts about how he does all in his power to keep it down. He’s willing to help hijackers if it means avoiding a plane trip. His classmates throw him a birthday party on a boat. He can’t ever voice his objections, of course, so he must endure as things only get worse. It’s great!

The cast is great in general. I love how none of them look like high school students whatsoever. I laughed hardest when they see a new guy and are like, “What’s he doing here? He must be 30!” Bruv, he looks the same age as you lot!

Humour is highly subjective, so we could have one person look at this and say, “I don’t get it. This just isn’t funny. Too random.” While another could say, “Funniest shit I’ve ever seen!” For me, it’s not Fumoffu or Nozaki levels of funny, but it is humorous enough and consistent to see me through to the end. The half-length episodes are a plus in avoiding drag.

On another note, I can imagine the art will put off some people. There is no getting around it – Cromartie High School looks like crap. There is barely any animation and they reuse stills. Even still frames are minimal in quality. Wouldn’t surprise me to hear the art team consisted of one artist for drawing, animation, and colouring. The only nice thing to say about the art is the occasional visual gag.

Cromartie High School is a niche comedy on a niche budget.

Art – Very Low

This doesn’t look good with barely any animation, repeated stills, and shoddy line work. Some visual humour is nice, but there isn’t much.

Sound – Medium

The voice acting, whether in English or Japanese, is surprisingly good when compared alongside the art. Music is weak.

Story – Medium

An eclectic group of high school students get up to who knows what. With consistent humour that builds over short stories in a variety of scenarios, Cromartie High School is an enjoyable romp of older anime comedy.

Overall Quality – Medium

Recommendation: For anime comedy fans. One episode probably isn’t enough to get a feel for Cromartie High School. Give it a few. Besides, they’re short.

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4 thoughts on “Cromartie High School – Anime Review”

I watched Cromartie High School when I was in high school, interestingly enough. The cheap art style was actually intentional because Production I. G. (Yes, the studio behind GITS animated this) wanted to parody delinquent anime shows which typically had low production values. This was also one anime I enjoyed in both the English and Japanese version.

How did Production IG create such an ugly ass show? In spite of that I really liked this one. Freddy cracks me up every time. That one episode where he shows up in his “I Want to Break Free” pink dress kills me.